ESCAPE Chapter 43
It's not going to be all right. How could it be? How could it have gotten like this is in the first place.
Cal was lying on the ground still, sweat on his brow. He'd been completely feverish for a couple of days now. The man had gone to get food but otherwise never left Cal's side. I wasn't sure whether to trust him when Cal started getting worse.
"I thought you said you could help him," I said, kneeling down beside him.
He just looked at me in silence, but there was no remorse in his eyes. There was something in his expression that still made me trust him. That maybe somehow, even after all of this, he'd get worse.
"It's going to get better Raina," he said. "I'm doing this for you."
Those words. Those five words should've meant nothing to me, but they did. They meant a lot, more chilling than flattered though. I felt like I was personally getting stronger every day, and as I watched Cal suffer, I felt guilty and confused. How was I improving suddenly? What was happening that I could possibly be any better than Cal himself? It didn't make sense at all, but there was nothing I could do. Finally I decided to ask him.
"Why is it that Cal's getting so weak and we both started out so weak, while I feel as though I'm getting…"
"Stronger?" The man interrupted.
I nodded.
"Well you see….that wasn't something I'd planned on telling you about until…" He didn't look at me, but back at Cal and I could tell he was trying to not look at me for some reason.
"What is it?" I asked. There was an edge to my voice as I could suddenly feel the tension.
He turned to me. "There can only be one," he said simply. "I believe, there can only be one."
I looked back at him, confused. "I don't understand…"
He looked up at the sky and suddenly the clouds darkened over. "One or the other Raina. The good or the evil. The hero or the villan in those little stories you're always reading. In the end…there can only be one side to choose. In this case…" he paused and smiled as his eyes darkened. "Nightmares!"
That was when I knew. What he was doing to Cal was to help, but not to help him. But to help me. I was the one that was the beholder of nightmares. But how could I know?
He turned to me a proud and vicious smile dripping from his face. It was disgusting and I staggered back in horror. "Wha…." I began. "What are you talking about? What are you doing to him!?"
"I gave you your strength back Raina. I was retrieving it for you. All for you. Always for you."
"Who are you?" I said and he took a step forward, which caused me to stumble and fall on the grass.
"That's not important." He hissed and looked at me in awe at the same time. "What's important, is you."